Magic Pictures & No Deer

Semisane · 12-11-2011, 09:11 PM

Guys, let me tell you how my season has gone so far.

I've hunted every Friday and Saturday - morning and evening - and every Sunday morning since November 12th. That's 14 days of hunting and I don't have a deer in the Freezer yet.

I've seen deer on only three of those hunts. Very very unusual for my area.

Now I usually take the first doe I see that I figure will top 100 pounds. Then I hold out for a buck of 7 points or more. I usually get one every year. Then, unless I luck out and take a second buck I will take a second doe later in the season to put three deer in the freezer.

So on the morning of opening day, November 12th., I watched a medium size doe feed on one of my plots for twenty minutes, along with a little "devil horn" buck and a 8" spike. Of course, I passed on the doe figuring I would see a bigger one that evening or the next day for sure. Didn't see another deer that weekend.

The next Friday I checked my game camera and saw that I had a pretty nice 7 pointer visiting the plot fairly regularly - but always at night. Lots of doe pictures too, but again always at night. I didn't see a deer that weekend. But Sunday morning one of the other guys shot that 7 pointer I had a picture of.

The third weekend I watched a spike and then a four pointer cross the plot without stopping. Easy shots, but we don't shoot young bucks in the club. By now my standards for my first doe had been lowered from "any doe over 100 pounds" to "any doe over a year old". But I didn't see a doe, or a mature buck.

On Friday evening of the fourth weekend I watched a nice little 5 pointer feed on the plot for ten minutes or so - 75 yards out. Since I wasn't going to shoot it I broke out my camera and videoed him for about three minutes. Friday night I showed the video to one of my good buddies who was guiding his 8 year old son for the boy's first time behind the trigger on a deer hunt. I said "I couldn't shoot this little guy, but it would be a great first deer for Josh". Sunday morning Josh shot that deer on a plot a quarter mile from where I videoed it. I didn't see my "shooter doe" or another buck that weekend.

This weekend I didn't see a deer - zero, zip, nil. My doe standards have been lowered to "any doe without spots".

But one of the other guys in the club shot a nice 8 pointer that I had pictures of on one of my game cameras.

So I'm still meatless and the X7 is still loaded in back of my truck. But all the the club members are encouraging me the get more pictures of bucks. They are convinced one of them will surely get a shot at any buck I get a Magic Picture of. I have three game cameras out, and am thinking about pulling all of them out of the woods.

Breechplug · 12-12-2011, 12:56 AM

Dang Semi, and I thought My Season was going bad. I tell Myself every year (Shoot em when you see em) and (I wont pass on another Deer that I want next Year, I'll take em) I Never follow up on what I say and as the Season goes on I say the same things to myself again and again as the Deer Dissapear.
Funny you should mention a Camera and Pictures. I always bring My Camera with Me when I Hunt, for those in the Field Shots. If I see a Buck I dont want to shoot I'll take Pictures of Him and show them to My Buddys when we regroup later in the day. Then later in the Season when Im Buckless and wish I'd see one of those Bucks I had taken Pictures of so I could shoot em, My Buddys always Razz Me and say (Hey lets see them Pics of that Buck you passed on a week ago)hahaha! or (Quit taking Pictures of them Bucks and shoot one of them when you see em) I Never learn.
Semi why not get a Pic of a GIANT BUCK and shpw your Buddys the Pic and tell them it's from one of the Food Plots where you Hunt, then none of them will shoot a lesser Buck because they'll all hold out for the Big Buck that'll never show, then they'll end up Buckless also, hehehe.. You'll have the Last Laugh

Hang in there Semi, we always get Our Day.
(BP)

Boonechaser · 12-12-2011, 02:08 AM

Semi,

That is exactly how my season went this year till, Saturday night. We have finally had some cold weather and it picked the activity up for sure.

johnnyo · 12-12-2011, 02:44 AM

I hear you. Up until Saturday, I was getting a little discouraged. I passed on small bucks and several Doe earlier in or main rifle season, only to see nothing or getting busted on the way to stands. Finally the weather turned cold, with snow, for the weekend and deer started to moving earlier to feed. My luck changed, yours will to.

nchawkeye · 12-12-2011, 04:39 AM

It's bad luck to pass on that first doe for the freezer...

That's about as deep as I think during deer season because damifino....

Some years they are running all over you and some not...

WOODTICK49 · 12-12-2011, 07:23 AM

Hang in there Perfesser Sane. I took down my camera for a different reason,NO deer on the camera. I feel your pain about nothing to shoot,but,I haven't even had an opportunity to let one walk,yet. Hope springs eternal.Good Luck.

gregrn43 · 12-12-2011, 08:39 AM

I feel your pain semi. For me this year started off good, I shot a 2yr old 7pt the second day of bow season and 15 min later shot a nice doe. I thought good start to the season, it went down hill from there. Didnt shoot anything during the early ML season and never fired a shot during rifle season either. I spent alot of time after that big buck I had got pics of early this year and never laid eyes on him, now the river is up and that spot is flooded. On our 6 day hunt in Ohio I managed to shoot a nice doe, but my wife really spanked my butt on that trip she shot a huge doe and a very heavy 10pt with her optima.

cayugad · 12-12-2011, 08:59 AM

That is why its called hunting and not killing. No telling what will happen when you hit the woods. I can appreaciate your standards in deer selection, but the first semisane doe that would have crossed paths with me would have already been in the freezer, if you have a lot of deer there.

My deer area is really dry this year. All the other hunters I have talked to tell me the same thing.. where are the deer? Our DNR before season came out and announced "the herd was back in the state, and to get a license and go hunting." As usual, they lied. Although there have been a few of my friends that took nice bucks.

oldsmellhound · 12-12-2011, 09:33 AM

Jeez, Semi-Insane, you're lowering your standards now??? Sounds like when I was younger and we used to go out on the town to try and pick up girls- as the night went on, our standards lowered at an exponential rate.... Just make sure you aren't reduced to shooting Bambi here before long

bronko22000 · 12-12-2011, 05:28 PM

Semi - sorry to hear about your season and how it is progressing. I will tell you this though - you have seen a lot more deer than I had. I put somewhere between 60-70 hours archery hunting from the beginning of October to November 8. I saw a grand total of 2 deer. The first one at last light that I didn't know if it was a buck or doe. And the second one, an 8 pt, the evening of Nov. 8 that I was fortunate enough to slip an arrow into at 43 yds. Now I am still anticipating the late ML flintlock season here in PA that comes in the day after Christmas and runs about a month. Maybe I will be able to bust a doe with my rocklock. My friend has put in more hours than I have and he hasn't seen a single deer in archery or regular rifle season.